Living and practicising lawyers are not too difficult to find. Each province and territory has a Law Society, most offer a search for a member lawyer, for example, The Law Society of Upper Canada, or you can search the Marindale & Hubbel directory. But what does one do if the lawyer you are seeking is dead, disbarred, or retired? In these cases the best source to confirm the lawyer’s status may be the provincial government body that authenticates documents. Lawyers, Notaries, and Commissioners of Oaths have seals, stamps and signatures that may be verified, compared and authenticated. To do this, an official government body holds copies for verification purposes. This government body will issue a certificate to authenticate the seal, stamp, and signature. However, the authenticating authority will also have a list of all Lawyers, Notaries, and Commissioners that may be searched by name. This list should also indicate the person’s status as retired, deceased, disbarred, or expired in the case of Commissioners of Oaths.
In Ontario Official Document Services may be found at http://www.gov.on.ca/MGS/en/OffDoc/STEL01_045716.html
Document authentication services in the other Canadian provinces and territories:
Alberta
Official Documents and Appointments
Room 111, Bowker Building
9833 109 Street
Edmonton, AB T5K 2E8
Telephone: (780) 427-5069
Web site
British Columbia
Orders in Council Administration
2nd Floor, 553 Superior Street
Victoria, BC V8V 1X4
Telephone: (250) 387-4376
New Brunswick
Executive Council Office
P.O. Box 6000
Fredericton, NB E3B 5H1
Telephone: (506) 453-2985
Newfoundland & Labrador
Deputy Minister’s Office
Confederation Building
4th Floor, East Block
P.O. Box 8700
St. John’s, NF A1B 4J6
Telephone: (709) 729-2872
Web site
North West Territories
Third Floor, Courthouse
P.O. Box 1320
Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Telephone: (867) 873-7488
Web site
Nova Scotia
Department of Justice
P.O. Box 7
Halifax, NS B3J 2L6
Telephone: (902) 424-4020
Web site
Nunavut
Nunavut Court of Justice
P.O. Box 297
Iqaluit, Nunavut X0A 0H0
Telephone: (867) 975-6100
Prince Edward Island
Office of the Clerk of the Executive Council
P.O. Box 2000
Charlottetown, PEI C1A 7N8
Telephone: (902) 368-4302
Quebec
Ministère de la Justice du Québec
Service des enregistrements officiels
1200, route de l’Eglise
7ème étage
Sainte-Foy, PQ G1V 4M1
Téléphone: (481) 646-6048
Saskatchewan
Deputy Provincial Secretary
8th Floor, 1874 Scarth Street
Regina, SK S4P 3V7
Telephone: (306) 787-3899
Web site
Yukon
Societies Clerk, Corporate Affairs Territorial
2130 2nd Ave.
Whitehorse, YT, Y1A 2C6
Telephone: (867) 667-5830
Toll-Free: 1-800-661-0408
Web site
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